1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waste toner collecting container used in an image forming device and a process unit including the waste toner collecting container.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an all-in-one process unit including a development unit, a photoreceptor unit, a waste toner collecting container, and other components have been used in an electrographic image forming device in response to the need for downsizing the device. In this kind of process unit, the development unit supplies toner to a photoreceptor in the photoreceptor unit for development.
In conventional techniques, the development unit comprises a development roller, a supply roller, a development sheet, a toner cartridge (also called a “toner box”), etc.; the photoreceptor unit comprises a photoreceptor, a charged component, a cleaning component, etc. The photoreceptor unit supplies the toner in the toner cartridge to the development roller when the image forming device works. The toner is attached to the surface of the development roller under action of an electrostatic force, forms a thin toner layer with uniform thickness by the development sheet, and is friction-charged. Moreover, in the photoreceptor unit, the surface of the photoreceptor which is rotationally driven touches the charged component. The charged component outputs an electrical voltage whose polarity is the same with that of the toner so as to cause the surface of the photoreceptor to be charged uniformly. The charged surface of the photoreceptor is scanned by a laser so that an electrostatic latent image is generated on the surface of the photoreceptor. The charged toner on the development roller in the development unit is transferred to the photoreceptor surface where the electrostatic latent image is generated so that a toner image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor.
When a piece of recording paper passes through a transfer position between the photoreceptor and a transfer roller, the toner image on the surface of the photoreceptor is transferred to the recoding paper by a transfer bias applied to the transfer roller. Furthermore, after the toner image is transferred to the recoding paper, the toner remaining on the photoreceptor, which is not transferred to the paper, is removed from the surface of the photoreceptor by the cleaning component to serve as waste toner; the waste toner is collected into a waste toner container. After that, the photoreceptor on which the toner that was not transferred to the recording paper has been removed is charged again by the charged component so as to repeatedly carry out the above described processing.
Years ago, once the toner in the toner cartridge, serving as developer was used-up, it was necessary to entirely replace the process unit. In recent years, in order to decrease cost in use, a method of preserving (not directly throwing away) a used process unit has been adopted; that is, components, containers, and the like in the used process unit are cleaned, and then the used process unit is recycled. In the recycling process, it is necessary to discharge the waste toner from the waste toner collecting container, and to clean the waste toner collecting container. However, in order to discharge the waste toner from the waste toner collecting container, it is often necessary to take out the photoreceptor, the charged component, and the cleaning component from the used process unit in order, and then to discharge the waste toner from the waste toner collecting container. This kind of operation not only is inconvenient but also may cause the waste toner to be scattered when the waste toner is discharged from the waste toner collecting container. As a result, other components in the image forming device may become contaminated, and the reusability of the used process unit may be decreased.
In the conventional techniques, a few techniques have been proposed to solve the above described problem. For example, in the following cited reference No. 1, there is a technical proposal in which plural outlets for discharging waste toner are opened at the central portion of the top of a waste toner collecting container along the transverse direction of the waste toner collecting container. When recycling a used process unit, it is not necessary to take out a photoreceptor, a charged component, and a cleaning component from the used process unit. In other words, only by rotating the whole used process unit so as to render the outlets for discharging the waste toner downward, it is possible to discharge the waste toner from the waste toner collecting container via the outlets. As a result, this kind of structure may control the scattering of the waste toner, effectively improve the reusability of the used process unit, and increase the operability of discharging the waste toner.
However, in the above mentioned technical proposal in the cited reference No. 1, since the outlets for discharging the waste toner are opened at the central portion of the top of the waster toner collecting container, the waste toner may enter the waste toner collecting container as the photoreceptor rotates so that in the waste toner collecting container, the waste toner may be distributed along the axial direction of the photoreceptor. As a result, if the outlets for discharging the waste toner are only opened at the central portion of the top of the waste toner collection container, then a problem that the waste toner cannot be discharged sufficiently may occur. For that, a user needs to swing the process unit right and left so as to cause the waste toner to be discharged as much as possible via the outlets located at the central portion of the top of the waste toner collection container; this is very inconvenient for the user. In addition, since the waste toner itself is cohesive, in order to sufficiently discharge the waste toner, the user sometimes needs to strongly hit the waste toner collecting container. However, this may cause the waste toner to be scattered, and other components in the image forming device may become contaminated. In addition, the quality of the formed image may worsen, and the waste toner collecting container may be broken due to the hitting.
Cited Reference No. 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-117470